This week's Inspirations

This week I have been asking for signs of what direction I should be taking and I feel like very poignant inspirations have been jumping out all over the place...just this week!

Raul: 7th Child out of 14 children. Lived in extreme poverty growing up with an abusive alcoholic father and a understandable exhausted mother. His mother told him education was his way out of that situation. Raul has been working since he was 6. First job as a "parking attendent" (the people that watch your car on the street so they don't get broken into in a dangerous neighborhood) and he went onto various jobs. No matter what the occupation, he always kept his vision in mind. He wanted to DJ as a teen. He entered the radio station as a janitor and left as the main DJ and Program Manager. He wanted to work for a NGO he entered in as some fix-it guy and came out as the Director...or the Region. ALL the time he is master these feats he is also attending school. Always. School during the day DJ at night, Work during the day, school at night and weekends. He is not the Director of the orphanage I am volunteering with and he is going to school to study law. He also happens to be a Life Coach which you know is after my own heart. Talking to him about his history, which he doesn't discuss much because, 1) it's painful 2) doesn't want to come off as bragging, I was inspired to get the fire back that I used to have.

I was always criticized for burning the candle at both ends, but MAN you get a lot of stuff accomplished when you do... Alright, what I used to do was NOT healthy, but I feel I have mellowed WAY out and now I know how to focus on what is important. I'm working on Getting up Early in the morning, because well...when you sleep until noon you get a lot less done for some reason... I aspire to do a lot of things so I need to go after them with the same hunger and tenacity that Raul did and still does to this day. Thanks for the swift Kick Raul!


My GodBrother Lincoln: I don't even know where to begin as this brother has been a beacon of light and love for a long time. He's a brother to me, a friend and a someone who's always shakes up that "you can do it if you put your mind to it" itch in me, just by living the way he lives. He's a an example of entrepreneurship and connectedness. He has a great Spirit and really I could go on and on.

Since we are talking this weeks inspirations I can say Just This week I drew inspiration from his new tumblr blog specifically his first real post here. You can keep up with his blog under the Sun Sprites, Rays and Beams section of this blog or you can subscribe to his blog directly.

Agent IAEBC: Teaching me by being a living example of love, affection, patience and consideration, just to name a few. Being vulnerable and sincere take strength too.

Sra Lola: I just got word yesterday that a project I was working on in Guayaquil with the Mujeres de Lucha and Sra Lola just went though and they got money to start constructing a community center that is going to house all of the small micro enterprises allowing them to be in the same buildling! "She does it again!" I thought to myself. Sra Lola is TRUE Visionary. When everyone around her is telling her she can't, it's impossible, how dare she even dream that big, this woman continues to have the Audacity of Hope :) I can watch "The Secret" all day, but Sra Lola has it down. She only focuses on the Goal and the End Result and perseveres through it all. This is not fluff. If you could see the poverty, the violence the dismay that surrounds her and the ladies daily it's enough to kill any spirit. They encounter more devastating setbacks in a day sometimes than we experience in a year. Honestly, I know because I've been there to see it. When I am next to her I feel like I know what someone felt standing next to Rosa Parks (and ya'll know I love me some Rosa Parks!! sooooo.biggest.compliment.EVER). I credit us all working countless hours on the grant proposals, researching and setting up meetings, but I know that none of this would have ever been accomplished had it not been for the unwavering faith and steadfast vision of Sra Lola. She is living proof. Anything is Possible.

Oh and this just in as I logged into my blog. I had two super uplifting comments!!
So shout out to Sunkiss (another trailblazer and light!) and Musicfan. Thank you So much for you words of encouragement. You have no idea how taking just a moment of your day to send sunshine my way helped to light my path!